News

Ernie Paniccioli and Afrika Bambaataa In Conversation At Liverpool Sound City

• 21st Apr 2010

Lovers of Hip Hop are in for a treat with the launch of a special event planned to raise the curtain on Liverpool Sound City. The legendary American photographer and author of hip hop culture Ernie Paniccioli is to take part in an exclusive ‘In Conversation’ style event with the godfather of hip hop, Afrika Bambaataa, they will talk about the evolution of hip hop, it’s current place in the world, the portrayal of it through the decades and also their friendship.

The event will take place at the Box at FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) Liverpool on Tuesday 18th May and is to be broadcast live to movie screens at Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle and the Cornerhouse in Manchester from 6.30pm – 8.30pm.

The Q & A will immediately follow the screening of the UK premiere of The Other Side of Hip Hop: The Sixth Element directed by Dion Michael Ashman, which also takes place at FACT Liverpool. The movie documents the life, art, politics and works of hip hop photographer and author Ernie Paniccioli, which also stars Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, Flava Flav, MC Lyte and Russell Simmons.

Ernie is also in Liverpool to launch a major photographic exhibition of his work at FACT gallery in Liverpool on 18th May (6.30pm-8.30pm) which will run for one month.

Ernie Paniccioli is regarded to be the premier “Hip-Hop photographer in America”. Paniccioli first made his foray into the culture in 1973 when he began capturing the ever-present graffiti art dominating New York City. Armed with a 35-millimeter camera, Paniccioli has recorded the entire evolution of Hip Hop. From Grandmaster Flash at the Roxy (a popular Manhattan nightclub of the late 70’s and early 1980s), to the athletic moves of the legendary Rock Steady Crew, to the fresh faces of Queen Latifah, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, and Lauren Hill; Paniccioli has been at the forefront, documenting the greatest cultural movement since Rock and Roll in the 1950s.